Rs 20,000 crore corpus collected for the Universal Service Obligation Fund be used for subsidizing telephone connections for the rural population still not uncovered.

Why does the panel think so?

As per the panel, auction-based investment requires large investment of equity by companies desiring to establish pan-India operations. It reasoned that the current limit of 74% already permits foreign investors to exercise complete control over their telecom companies. In such condition, finding Indians willing to invest large sums to meet the remaining 26% and yet own a minority stake constitutes a major hindrance in getting competitive foreign investment at the right valuation. As per the panel, the move is needed to attract more competitive offers in the proposed auctions and also bolster FDI. Appropriate safeguards could be put in place to address security concerns.